Tarin and the Banished Warrior
by niq2cute
Summary: A sea elf lives in a underwater world of Corilius studying magic. After his fathers murder he is left with a drive to become the best magic user. His life takes a turn during a celebration when demons and a stranger attack and must use magic to survive.
1. Chapter 1 & 2

Prologue

Tsaril stopped to tie his shoes. He smiled to himself because normally he would have worn the tightly fitted, lace freeboots that one of his race normally wore but in his haste to get to work, he grabbed the shoes that he kept as a souvenir from the surface world. The shoes felt weird on his smooth skin. Finally, feeling satisfied with the shoes he stood and walked down the darkened hall that led to his office. He stopped at the door to admire his reflection that shone on the polished metal. Sea elves took their appearance very seriously. Beauty was for all elves but the sea elves loved the fact that since the begging of time even the stubborn elves of dry land admired their beauty .He ran his hand through his long light green, shoulder length hair. He saw how his grey eyes rose at a slight slant and with his eyebrows in the same fashion. Sea elves typically had an expression of seriousness on their faces but he always loved how his face always tended to have an expression of amusement. Many a foe had fallen for taking his expression as a sign of weakness.

Tsaril opened the doors and walked through his neat barely lit office. He saw down at his desk and turned around to look out of the giant window. He could see all of the underwater sea elf city of Corilius. His eyes scanned over the many buildings and homes magically shaped from the multi-colored living coral. The city always had an air of peace about it. All around Corilius was gardens of sea flowers and seaweed. The city's main source of light came from the giant dome that encompassed the whole city. Long ago ancient and powerful sea elves cast complex and dangerous magic on the dome so that oxygen was absorbed from the ocean and filtered through the dome to the city. The spell also gave off a faint blue light so that the city seemed perpetually cast in light as if in the eve of day. The city of Corilius was as beautiful as its citizens were. Tsaril loved his job because it involved keeping that beauty. His job was to keep watch over the city and to warn in times of danger. For centuries, Tsaril watched the city from this room and nothing escaped his sharp eyes. The last attack on the city was almost two hundred years ago. He still could remember that night when a small army of sea demons attacked the city. He and his beloved wife were some of the few sent to the front lines. With his unmatched magic and her uncanny skill with a spear and whip, the demons were slew fast with little resistance. Talam was most beautiful when fighting. When the last demon lay slain, Talam turned her back to answer my call and that is when a hiding demon mage shot her with a spell incasing her in a block of ice. Before he could counter act and save her with a spell the demon threw a spear and shattered his wife and thus shattering one of the most important elements in his life. Once of the other warriors destroyed the mage but for him the damage was done. Tsaril opened his eyes. He had not realized he had closed them. He turned around to his desk and froze. In his moment of recalling the past, he had not realized that someone had come into the office.

In front of his desk stood, someone dressed in a black cloak. Tsaril could not see his face. He dove to the side just as his desk sliced in two. Tsaril barely saw the attack coming. While diving to the side he said and incantation and pointed his hands at the attacker and blue darts of pure power shot forth right into the chest of the cloaked attacker. He rolled and crouched down. He knew that nothing could withstand such a direct attack from one of his spells but years of fighting taught him to expect nothing. The cloaked figure remained standing. Tsaril quickly took advantage of his foes slowness, pulled a pinch of sunfish ash out a pouch on his waist, and threw it in the air shortly creating a blast of light while he simultaneously drew dagger. When the white light cleared away, Tsaril was standing behind the cloaked figure with the blade pressed upon the back of its neck.

"Remain still and you might not die," he said.

The cloaked figure made and attempt to move and Tsaril plunged the dagger deep into the back of its neck. The cloak dropped but he knew something was wrong because nobody fell with it. Suddenly he felt a pain in his stomach and looked down. There protruding out of his stomach was a sword. Tsaril was led into a trap and he had fallen for it. He dropped down on his knees. He could feel his strength fading. He had to do something. Tsaril grabbed the blade protruding from his stomach and cast his last spell. The blade instantly turned bright orange, heated by his spell. As he died, he heard his attacker cry out in pain, from a terrible burn. His last thought was of his only child, Tarin and then the darkness of death swept him away.

Chapter 1

Bluish light filtered through a small opening in a window and into a room filled with books. All around the room were books. The average person gazing into the room would have thought it was a library but with a closer look, you would find a pallet lying in a corner. There in the middle of the room was a desk. To both sides of the desk floated everlasting candles and this cast shadows in the already darkened room. Sitting at the desk was someone deeply concentrated on his studies. His long light green hair was hanging loosely around his face as he read a rather large book. His grey eyes scanned the pages of the book taking every detail to memory. The room was in complete silence except for the turning of pages. There came a knock on the door. He continued to read his book.

"Tarin" came a voice from the door. The voice sounded muffled and with an echo. Tarin continued to sit at the desk ignoring the interrupter. Then the door suddenly burst into the room shattering against the wall right behind Tarin. Tarin remained at the desk and showed no signs of surprise by the door been blasted off its hinges. Through the smoke came a transparent person. The hologram stopped right in front of Tarin's desk. Tarin finally gazed up from his book at the intruder.

"Why master Rioka, it is a pleasant surprise."

The hologram stared at him. It was a transparent image of a stern looking elderly sea elf.

"Report to the arena immediately" the hologram said.

Its voice was a pale comparison to the regular annoying volume of his actual teacher.

Tarin closed the book he was reading and stood.

"Yes master" he said and he walked around his desk and waved a hand and the hologram disappeared. He straightened his vest, walked over to a cabinet, and took out a dark green cloak. After putting on the vest, he also placed around his waist a belt from which hung pouches of various spell components. Then he walked out of his room and into a hall. There were other elves staying in the building but at this time, they were all off doing their jobs or walking the city. He liked the alone time he could get at this time. It helped him concentrate on his studies. Tarin then walked down the hall and out of the housing building. The bluish light of the city blinded him. When at last his eyes became accustom to the light he started walking down the stone streets towards the second largest structure in the city which he knew to be the arena. As he walked, he took in his surroundings. The city was still its usual beauty. Nothing changed. Nothing ever changed in this city. He hated this city. It was because of his fathers love for Corilius that led to his death. If only he had been in another place instead of keeping watch over the city, he would still be alive. His fathers death had been ten years ago and since than he had devoted his life to learning all the magic he could. Tarin spent countless hours reading scrolls and spell books. His skill was starting to catch the eye of others. When he would walk the streets people would watch him. Other users of magic usually stayed away from him because of their unwillingness to meet whatever strange magic he was using. Tarin paid no attention to the reactions; he just simply went about his business. He had taken all of the training the city could provide in the field of magic. Others wasted their time training in the art of combat or in nature magic for like the elves on dry land, sea elves had a love for nature and spent most of their time purifying the seawater or protecting the various creatures from the evils that inhabited it. Tarin came upon the arena. He could hear others inside training. Tarin had argued with the elders of the city that combat training was unnecessary for him. If he was in any kind of danger, he knew that he could do the best standing back and casting spells, but the decision was made and he was made to take the training. He walked into the hall that led into the arena.

When he finally made it to the end of the long hallway, he came out into the stands of the arena. Down below students around his age were sparing against each other. The sounds of pain and triumph reach Tarin's ears as elves female and male alike fought each other with swords, bows and the trident that was customary to sea elves. The only one not moving in combat was Master Rioka. She stood to the side of the practicing and her attention was fully on him. Tarin lowered his gaze.

"So nice of you to join us tarin." She said. "You're just in time for the lesson. Come down." Tarin sighed. He knew what her intentions were. She was more than likely going to try to humiliate him in order to teach him a lesson. He thought to himself, "I don't want to disappoint".

Tarin walked down to the rail that separated an onlooker from plummeting down to the pit. He gripped the rail and swung over. He floated easily down to the ground with the aid of a ring of gravity he never left home without taking. He then walked and stood next to the teacher.

"Pavartius, come forth," she said. A tall, muscular elf with a shaved head stepped forth. "You will spar with our new student"

Tarin looked at the teacher with a scowl deeply set on his smooth face. "Teacher I am not trained in combat, like I told the elders"

She raised her hand "I want to see your skills". He knew that the discussion was over. Pavartius as well as the other students wore battle garments. Sea elves never wore heavy armor. Armor composed of tightly braided and dyed see fabric coated with a resin from a type of sea plant that made the armor hard to pierce was their usual warrior attire. Tarin still had on his robes, vest and pouches that were customary of a magic user. Pavartius grinned at him and walked over to a rack of weapons. He chose a wicked looking long sword. He than stood in front of Tarin only a short distance away and expertly swung the sword twice on each side and ending with the sword raised over his head pointing in the mages direction. Tarin was terrified. If this were a contest of spells, he knew he would be victorious but he knew that he was doomed in physical combat. Tarin broke eye contact with Pavartius, raised a hand, beckoned at the rack of weapons, an identical sword to Pavartius's flew towards him, and he caught it. The sword felt super heavy in his hands but he lifted it the best he could in a stance. Master Rioka and the other students stepped back nodded and the match began. Pavartius dashed towards Tarin. He swung and it took all of Tarins skill to dodge the attack without being killed. It was common for students to die in their studies. More so, in the studying of magic because if a word was mispronounced when casting a spell most of the time the spell would backfire and consume the life of the caster. Pavartius ran past him and Tarin turned along with him just in time to bring his blade up to deflect his opponent's attacks. Pavartius smiled at him and began pounding Tarin's blade with quick slices. Tarin's hands were numb from the harsh vibrations after each stroke. Than Pavartius swung with a mighty force and knocked Tarin's blade flying through the air to land in the dust several yards away, then he stepped forward and slammed his palm straight into Tarin's chest. Tarin was sent backwards with a strong force. He barely managed to keep on his feet. Pavartius had used magic. All around the arena, the other students gave small gasps and some went as far as to yell out "CHEATER". Pavartius simply stood, smiled, and raised his hand, which was giving off static. Tarin bent over holding his chest. When the pain subsided, he straightened up, looked at Mater Rioka, and smiled. She looked at Parvartius and than looked at Tarin and returned his smile. She had given Tarin permission to use magic. Tarin then looked at Pavartius with an evil smile. Pavartius stared back with a smirk on his face. Then Pavartius's smile disappeared when he realized what was about to happen. Tarin would not give the time to ponder. Tarin slammed his hand flat on the ground. "Lifta!" he said. The ground started to crack. The crack raced from Tarin's hand right under Pavartius. A giant hand made of stone burst from the ground sending Pavartius flying in the air! Than before he could return to the ground Tarin started making complicated but quick hand gestures, than with psychic force Pavartius was slammed to the ground. Dust was thrown in the air. When the dust settled Pavartius was lying unconscious in a crater that outlined his body. Master Rioka walked over to him. She waved her fragile hand over him, a white light flashed, and Pavartius awoke and started to stand.

"Next time you would be wise to not cheat," she said to him. She than looked at me "Your mastering of weapons is terrible but if there ever was a fight of spells I would be sure to be on your side. Class dismissed" she then took her leave of the arena. After she was gone, the others started to clap. One of them went over and helped Pavartius to his feet. The class was dismissed to everyone started to leave but Pavartius stayed behind glaring at Tarin, than started to walk towards him. Tarin stayed still but in his mind he was preparing spells that he could cast just in cast Pavartius wanted revenge. He walked up to Pavartius and extended his hand. Tarin took it. Pavartius smiled.

"You beat me fair and I respect that," he said. Than like the others, he turned and exited the arena leaving Tarin standing alone. He made sure that he was alone before he sat hard on the ground. His body ached and he knew that he had been lucky this time. He could not help but think how long that luck would keep him from being sliced apart by the others. He than reached inside his vests and pulled out the book from earlier and continued to read.

Chapter 2

Tarin sat on a bench in one of the many sea gardens that littered the city. He surprised himself because for once he had no desire to study his spell books (partly because he had already learned all of their secrets). He just sat on the bench with a smile. The city was bustling with activity. He could see sea farmers swimming outside the city bringing in their harvest of various sea vegetables and creatures. Tarin had forgotten that today there would be a festival. Normally he took no interest in the various festivals of his people but this particular festival only happened every five-hundred years. This would be his first Sea Sectorum Festival. The festival would bring sea elves from all over the world to the city of Corilius. During the festival, there would be trading, selling, and the forming of new alliances, but none of this interested Tarin because he knew that with so many elves meeting in one place there was bound to be new magic that he could learn.

Tarin sat there for hours watching the city and watching the people rush about like frightened squids. There came a loud horn. Tarin stood up. He knew this horn. The horn signaled the approach of something coming towards the city. He glanced around the garden. There had been a couple people his age in the garden as well and like him, they looked tense. Some even pulled out weapons. Tarin took notice that an Elvin woman was flipping through what appeared to be a spell book. He would approach her later to compare magic. Then down in the city there came cheering and laughing. Tarin looked in the distance to watch he thought was an enemy invasion to see that the festival guest had started to arrive. He started to walk along with the others down from the gardens and through the city to meet the guest as they came through the barrier. As the visitors got closer to the city, he noticed that they looked different from the people of Corilius. These elves had dark colored skin and instead of long elegant light green hair, they had short black hair. They were beautiful elves nonetheless but in comparison to us, they are mud puppies, tarin thought. They glided through the barrier and in the lead was a tall elf with withered skin. He had strong eyes and looked as though he carried a heavy burden. He was met by the elders of Corilius who consisted of three of the oldest and wisest elves in the city. Than the horn sounded, again and in the distance fast approaching was another group of elves. When closer he could see that these elves were very different from all of them. These elves swam through the water with an alarming speed. They had long flowing white hair that led down to the knees and had skin the color of pearls. They glided through the barrier. They were all very tall and elegant and Tarin could not help but admire them. They all looked the same but after they came in the city, the elders had walked up to one of their older looking elves. Tarin guessed that this elf was the leader of these people. Everyone started to mix and talk with the visitors and trading had already begun.

Tarin walked through the streets of Corilius after spending hours of getting to know the visiting elves. The rough skinned elves called themselves the legostians. He found out the reason why the rough skinned elves looked different was because they lived in rough ocean riddled with frequent storms and crashing water and that the light skinned elves, the sertiminans, lived in a peaceful giant lake were there was nothing to fear and plenty of clams to eat hence their pearl like skins. He had also tried to persuade a couple of their mages to teach him some of their magic but they were very protective of their secrets and shunned him off every time. Finally a different horn blew. This horn was long and deep. He had learned earlier to head to the arena when this horn blew so he had already been close to the arena to secure a good seat. After trying to persuade an pearl skinned elf to teach him a spell and failed he walked into the arena. Once inside he found that down in the pit a platform had been made with five seats. Three of the seats were for the elders of Corilius and the other two for the elders of the two tribes of visiting elves. When the arena was filled and the elders had taken their seats the lights in the arena were turned down. Tarin figured that some form of entertainment had been arranged so he leaned forward in anticipation of what was to come. From one of he side entrances came an elf woman. She was dressed in black from head to toe and in her hand she carried a long staff. The staff had intricate designs all along its length. She stood in the middle of the pit and raised the staff vertically in front of her. From somewhere he could not find there came the pounding of drums and the shaking of a tambourine. The girl in the pit started to dance. She swung the staff all around in delicate patterns. The music was slow and the she danced as such. The beat started to pick up and so the she danced faster. She twirled the staff with such ease and with quick jabs and fierce slashes. Her dance was so captivating that he did not even realize that the staff was giving off static electricity. From the ends of the staff came sharp burst of sparks. The beat had reached its highest and the dancer twirl the staff in one last mighty swing and hit one end on the ground and sparks were sent everywhere. Everyone stood and clapped for the dancer. Then the arena started to shake. People fell and others barely remained on their feet. As quick as it started it ended and then a horn blew and everyone froze for this was no horn to signal visitors. This horn meant one thing…………

Invasion…

Everyone sprang into action. Orders were yelled out and the elves reacted instantly. Years of practicing for such an occurrence served everyone well because elves instantly went to work on the necessary invasion actions. Weapons were brought to anyone who could fight. The elders were in fierce conversation with the elders of the visiting tribes. From what he could hear, the elders wished to help in the fight. Tarin stood and watched as the arena emptied of elves. He waited until everyone had left and than he left. Once outside his blood froze. He could see outside the barrier to the sea and he could see what was attacking. Far in the distance, he thought it was a shadow or dark coral but the shadow stretch over a vast amount of land and was moving. It was than that, he could make out individual creatures from the large mass. The creatures varied in size and shape. Some swam with huge fins and tails and mouths filled with razor sharp teeth with one eye burning with a dark flame, while others ran or slithered on the ocean floor with long bodies and sharp claws with poison dripping from their fangs. This was a massive attack by different sea demons. They swam, ran and slithered towards the city with frightening speed. Immediately the cities defenses came into action. The barrier turned from a light blue to a pulsing red. Tarin knew that if anything touched the barrier now that they would explode from the hostile magic brought into play. All the warriors lined up and exited the barrier. Five thousand warriors lined up on the battlefield. The warriors wore armor of strong sea cloth woven from a pierce resistant plant and hardened by the magical blood of spirit fish. When the last warrior exited through the barrier, the magic users started to get organized. Two thousand magic users dressed in various multi colored many-pocketed vest filled out including Tarin. Once outside the barrier Tarin was instantly plunged into the ocean. The water closed around all of the Warriors and magic users alike. Tarin was a sea elf and like the others, he could breathe under water. The mages spaced out behind the warriors. Tarin was not worried. He and the others would provide magical support while the warriors cut the demons to ribbons. He could see the warriors drawing their weapons and some of the mages were muttering unheard words with their hands outstretch which were the signs of preparing a spell. After a couple hours, the demons could now be seen more clearly, so the call was given and everyone faced the oncoming demons. The demons were only a short distance away. A small horn blew and thousands of tridents soared through the air. The tridents plowed into the oncoming horde of demons and thousands fell dead but the demons kept coming. The demons were closer than ever and than the same horn blew twice. This was the signal for a magical assault. Tarin stood still and watched what would happen. Thousands of spells flew over the heads of the warriors and straight at the demons. Ice shards plunged into the demons killing groups at a time while a particular spell had summoned a school of giant ocean piranha that swarmed over the demons eating and leaving behind bones and demons simply dissolved into nothingness. Tarin thought that this would have finished the demons off but the demons kept coming still outnumbering the elves. Another signal was given and the warriors charged into the demons. Demons and elves collided. The impact was so great that the water around them rippled from the force of the collision. The warriors slew hundreds of demons per person but the demons also killed the warriors. The battling was fierce and terrible. The mages were starting to fall back into the city. Protocol stated that advanced magic could not be used because of the risk of injuring the allies. Tarin stood his ground. Suddenly a strange horn blew and the dark skinned legostian elves ran out to battle they wielded curved swords in both hands. Than the pearl-skinned sertiminan, elves swam out. They swam above the battle and started to sing. Tarin heard the music and recognized traces of hidden and ancient magic. The warriors started to fight harder as the singing spell gave them strength. Even with the help of the foreign elves, the fight was pointless. The demons simply out numbered the elves. The signal was given for everyone to fall back into the city but the demons blood lust was intensified as they sensed that they were winning. Tarin and stepped forth with outstretched hands muttering a complicated spell. He than reached into a pouch at his waist and took out a pearl and threw it into the water above the battle. Instantly the ocean battlefield was filled with white light. The demons snarled and cowered back from the light. The spell did not last long but this gave the warriors enough time to pull back and retreat into the magically safe city. Many were already dead yet tarin knew that everyone would be safe in the city, but for how long?

Every elf was safely inside the city. Tarin scanned the horizon outside of the city and could see the many dead bodies of people he knew. He was very anti social but seeing elves that he once had interesting conversations with out there dead made him shiver. Once Tarin's spell disappeared, the demons surged towards the barrier. A handful of quicker demons reached the barrier first. On contact, they were turned to ash that floated and mixed with the bloody water that hung over the battlefield. The main body of demons did not seem to notice the destruction of their comrades or simply did not care because they threw themselves against the barrier. A loud ZAP could be heard through out the city. Many turned their eyes away from the destruction of the demons, for even in war sea elves couldn't stand to see creatures perish. This in turn led to the habit of elves on occasion saving shipwreck surviors and various other unlucky swimmers in their sea, thus giving fuel to the surface dwellers silly legends of mermaids. Mermaids existed but they were far from beautiful. They were nasty creatures with a habit of eating people they fish out of the water alive. Tarin turned away from the demons and pushed his way through the crowd towards the palace. He turned a corner and came upon the elders. They were in deep conversation with the elders of the visiting elves. The short and thickest of the Corilian elders turned towards him.

"Come here boy". He said. Tarin walked over to the group.

"We have sent a group of skilled warriors to guard the mages that keep the barrier active. If those mages were killed our defenses would crumble around us and the demons would have free reign to run amuck in our city," he paused and wiped his sweaty fat face with a cloth. "You are to go there and help. We know of your certain gifts with magic and it would be a waste if those talents were not put to good use. Now, go there immediately." The short elf turned away and continued the conversation with the rest of the elders. Tarin could not help but notice the way he described his gifts. Even in times of war, no one could still forget that he was unnaturally skilled in the art of magic. He shrugged and made his way up the steep hill to the palace. The palace was once the home of the Corilian royal family but they died out millennia ago and now the palace was home to the elders, their families, and the barrier chamber. The barrier chamber housed the mages that kept the barrier active. While they kept the barrier up they would be defenseless and the elders wanted to prevent their murder, which would ultimately leave the city defenseless. Tarin walked through the giant golden palace doors. He found it odd that they were open slightly. Once inside he knew that all was not right and crouched into a defensive position one hand grasped the short dagger he kept hidden in his sleeve and the other was in one of his many pockets grasping spell components. Magical torches on the walls lighted the giant hall and as always the palace retained its usual cleanliness but what striked tarin as odd was the fact that no one was on guard. At all times a group of guards were to be guarding the main entrance and this was an instant signal that something had happened. He made his way towards a door that he knew led to the family quarters of the elders. He turned the handle on the door and pushed it open. Something had indeed gone wrong for instead of being met by the children and wives of the elders he was met by a scene of a massacre.

Tarin walked in further into the room. Dead bodies littered the room. A maid lay dead in a pool of blood, her eyes forever frozen with a look of pure terror. She was evidently trying to protect the children but had failed for close by laid their bodies. Tarin reached a hand up to block the stench of blood. All a round the large room other bodies were scattered. Tarin could see that they had been gathered here and than killed due to the absence of dead bodies outside the room. Tarin retraced his steps and closed the door behind him. Back out in the grand hall he crouched lower and brought the dagger up closer to his head. He than made his way to a door hidden in one of the halls corners. He knew that this door led to the barrier chamber. Tarin open the door and could immediately hear the sounds of battle. He rushed down the stairs to see what was going on. Several of the chosen guards lay dead on the floor but two remained alive. One guarded the barrier mages while the other one battled a figure in black robes. The battle was going bad for the guards so tarin reached into his left hip pouch and produced a piece of coral. Rotating the coral piece clockwise and chanting a quick trigger word, he threw it at the black cloaked attacker. On contact, the coral grew and quickly encased the attacker in a hard case of coral. The guard lowered his sword and retreated to check on the mages after a quick nod of thanks towards Tarin. When the guard turned his back there suddenly came a loud crack. Tarin looked at the cloaked prisoner in surprise. Surely, that noise had not come from the coral, he thought to himself. Tarin looked closer. Just then, a small piece of coral chipped off.

"Get them out of here. Now!" yelled Tarin. He knew that nobody short from an advanced magic user could even hope of escaping that coral prison. The two guards herded the mages towards the door. The prisoner chose that time to make his escape for the coral casing exploded sending chunks of coral flying. Tarin ducked, narrowly missing a ballistic piece of coral. The intruder stood and shook the coral dust off its black robes. Tarin lunged forward with his dagger. The dagger had an enchantment placed on it that if cut the injured would be immobilized. The intruder faced towards Tarin. Tarin slashed and missed. The intruder seemed to be lazily avoiding his attacks. Tarin could see behind the intruders back that the mages and guards stood watching the battle. Tarin jumped back landed on the wall and pushed off flying horizontally with the blade pointing straight at the intruder. The cloaked form sidestepped and allowed Tarin to sail right past him. Tarin turned in midair and came back on the ground recovering spinning in to a crouched position.

"Get them out of here now!" yelled Tarin, for the guards and mages still lingered watching the battle. They started up the stairs and after a moment, he could hear them reach the top.

"Now that they are gone tell me who you are. I would like to know your name before I destroy you," said Tarin casually. The cloaked person placed its hands on its hips.

"Well aren't you interesting," came a low cold voice, "I have killed many this day and by far you are the most interesting." Tarin remained crouch. He did not want to give this stranger an opening. Tarin who had been muttering an incantation under is breath while the cloaked figure spoke now pointed his hands straight at him. Darts of bluish light raced towards the figure. The darts went straight and would have plunged into the intruder's chest if not for at the last minute a type of fore field surrounded the intruder and the darts sizzled out of existence.

"Hmm, that spell remains me of when I was last here," said the deep voice "I had killed a very skilled magic user who had used the same spell years ago. He had been keeping watch over this foolish city and I decided to kill him for pleasure on my escape."

Tarin could not believe what he was hearing. If what this cloaked man was saying was correct than he killed his father. Tarin felt like his blood was boiling from the anger.

"You killed my father you son of a bitch!" yelled Tarin. He could not help himself. The cause for him growing up without a father was standing right in front of him.

"That elf was your father? Oh well," said the intruder. Tarin threw the dagger. The cloaked form sidestepped and the dagger flew past. Tarin snapped his fingers and the man dove aside in order to dodge the dagger which flew towards Tarin. Tarin caught the dagger in his hand.

"Well this has been lovely, but I'm afraid I have to return back home" he said. He pointed his hand towards the ceiling. Than he ran towards Tarin who was taken by surprise jumped out of the way. Tarin turned and raced up the stairs in pursuit. Tarin ran up the stairs just in time to see the cloaked man plunge a sword into the chest of one of the guards. Evidently, the guards and mages had not vacated the palace. The other guard ran forward to help and was killed by a swipe from the killer's sword. Tarin took a step forward.

"Stay were you are or I will kill them," said the cloaked man "I believe that you should be rewarded for you persistence so I will allow you to know who I am. My name is Yaoson. I am a mercenary. Tarin remained in the crouched battle position. He had to get those mages to safety or their deaths would mean the crippling of the city. He took a step towards Yaoson. He froze, for in the distance many footsteps could be heard. Yaoson tilted his head in the direction of the noise.

"Well, it was nice to meet you, but I have to run," he said. Suddenly Yaoson raised a hand towards the mages that huddled together, lighting crackled around his hand. Tarin ran forward trying to stop what was going to happen. Lightning shot forth from Yaoson's hand and engulfed the terrified mages. Tarin stopped and watched as the spell took hold of the mages. Two of the mages fell instantly dead, while one of them gave a horrifying scream and fell to his knees were he died in a slumped position. The lighting had sparked out and the slightly burned bodies lay silent on the floor. Tarin looked back at the mercenary. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. It was if he had shortly lost his ability to speak. Yaoson had pulled from his cloak a green jewel.

"See you later," he said. The jewel in his hand blazed brightly and Tarin had to look away. When he looked back, Yaoson was gone. He was left in the hall with the dead mages. There was complete silence. Just than the front doors burst open and in came a small group of soldiers and right behind them the elders. The small fat elder from before came forth.

"What the hell happened here?" he said. Their came a noise from a pillar and everyone looked to see what would emerge. Tarin threw his dagger. It landed with a soft thud into the pillar right beside the head of a young girl. She wore the exact clothing of the dead mages. She stood staring at everyone with a look of complete terror on her face, and then she fell to the floor unconscious. Tarin snapped his fingers and his dagger flew back to him and he caught and replaced it in its case in his sleeve. He than sat on the floor. He did not know a lot of what happened this night but he knew that it was far from over.

Chapter 3


	2. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"How much longer is this going to take?" thought Tarin. He was sitting at his desk back at his apartment. He sat and reviewed in his mind what had previously happened after the surviving mage was discovered. He had to answer a barrage of questions and once the elders found out that their families were dead there had been an annoying mixture of questions and crying. He had been dismissed by the distraught elders to go and wait in his apartment for further information. He had been waiting for a couple hours now. The demons that were throwing themselves at the barrier in an attempt to gain entry into Corilius had vanished. They just simply vanished. On his way to his apartment he could see scouts going out of the barrier to retrieve the dead that had not been eaten by the demons. Tarin simply sat with his head down on his desk waiting and waiting for some kind of information that would tell him what the hell was going on in this city. He couldn't help to think about what Yaoson the mercenary and provoker of this whole situation had said. Could this man be the one who killed his father? There came a knock at the door and Tarin jumped up and raced over to open it. Standing in the door was none other than his ancient weapons training master Rioka. He stood aside and she walked in. she sat down at Tarin's desk and placed a withered hand on her head. "The mages deaths will not cancel the ancient magic that sustains the barrier as long as that girl remains alive," she said. She looked at tarin as if waiting for him to ask a question. When he didn't she continued

"The elders have decided that a visit to the surface is needed," she said. Tarin got very excited. "Am I going on this visit?" said Tarin. He knew that no one from the city of Corilius had been to the surface world in Millennia. Master Rioka shook her old head.

"Yes you are to go on this visit. You are to meet up with the other selected elves and continue on to the surface world and speak with our cousins of the forest and find out if all is well in the world. For too long have we sea elves remained ignorant of the outside world. We long ago cut our ties with the trading cities of dry land and in doing so cut off our ties with the world. By this visit we plan to correct this and reestablish connections with the land elves and perhaps unite against this evil that we have just faced. Get prepared now for in an hour your transportation will depart for the surface," she said this and then stood and walked slowly out of the room. Tarin stood still for awhile trying to take in all of this new information, then he started rushing around the room gathering spell components and a couple spell books. He would need all the materials he could carry for he did not know the next chance he would get to return and restock his supplies. Satisfied with his inventory he walked out of his room. He walked down the empty streets down to the entrance of the city. He knew the reason for the emptiness of the streets. Many elves had lost their lives in that battle and the families were now praying and mourning for their lost ones. Came upon the gate and gazed at the small band of people. Master Rioka was present as well as the fat elder. Behind the elder and teacher were a three people. There stood two male elves and one female. The males were talking to each other while the girl stood apart gazing at a spot on the ground. The elder looked at Tarin.

"Ah, you made it," he said. Tarin was not surprised that he was not mourning. It was quite obvious that he would not have a family because of his weight an odd nature. "You have made it just in time. I expect that you would like to get to know your fellow travelers but that will just have to wait," he said. He wiped a small beefy hand across his forever sweating forehead. "You know your assignments now board your transportation and get on your way," he said. He then turned and walked away towards the palace and Tarin was pretty sure a plate of food as well. Master Rioka walked closer to the small group. Tarin walked over and stood next to the girl who's gaze was still lingering on the ground. "You are about to embark on a dangerous mission. I do not pretend to not know that there is some hidden reason for this visit to the surface world but I do ask that you all do what you have been told to do. Do not forget you training and do not let your guards down for I fear that just as we have problems other races of this world do to," she said this and like the elder walked away but her path was pointed in the direction of the arena. Tarin smiled, Rioka may be old but she was as sharp as a blade. Tarin had previously wondered the same. Why had this little visit been hastily made? There had to be some reason for this visit to the elves of the surface and Tarin would soon find out but at what cost.

Tarin turned towards the others. The two male elves stopped talking and looked at him. The tallest of the two walked up to him. His hair was flowed down to his shoulders and he had two braids on the side of his face. He's massive, thought tarin. Tarin could see the muscles all over his body. He wore a warrior outfit of black with red lining .On his back he had a small trident and at his waist a short sword along with two daggers at his side. "Well met young mage. My name is Kiaro. I am leading this "visit" to the surface world. Our transportation should be arriving momentarily. I suggest that you familiarize yourself with your team," he said. His voice was rough and deep. Kiaro walked away and sat on a rock close to the gate. The other male stood watching and when kiaro walked away he approached tarin. This elf looked way different than kiaro. He walked grazefully. He was not teaming with muscles like kiaro but muscles bulged on his arms. He wore black armor that hugged his skin. Tarin also noticed the presences of magic on him and quickly noticed that his boots were enchanted so that he could walk on any surface and not slip or make and noise at all. He had a shortsword at his belt and across his back a bow and a quiver full of arrows. "My name is balanthalis. You may refer to me as balan. I will be this team's long range support. Nothing more and nothing less," he said this and walked back to where he was previously standing and turned his back on tarin. He had a calm voice but with an icy edge hidden underneath. Tarin dusted off his vest and walked over to the female elf. She wore a white vest with a white cloak went all the way down to her feet. He could not detect any visible weapons but experience told him to not let his guard down when dealing with mysterious elves. The girl looked up from the ground and gazed direct at tarin. "What is your name girl?" said tarin. The elf girl blushed and looked back at the ground. "She is very shy. Her name is Katalina," said Kiaro who had been watching tarin as he approached the girl. Tarin turned around closed his eyes and messaged his temple. He hated having to deal with others. He could just barely stand talking to other mages. He preferred to work alone. He knew that when danger arrived that they were more than likely going to look to the mage to fix everything. "Our ride is here," said kiaro. Tarin turned around to look at what vessel would be taking them to the mysterious surface world. Tarin's mouth fell at what he saw. From the distant ocean he could see a large ship approaching. Tarin had heard of the vessels that the barbarian humans used sometimes to cross the waters of the world, but had not ever seen one before. The ship came upon the entrance to the city. It simply floated outside the gate. It was tall and the sails had holes in them and the mass was broken at the top. Various holes were visible in the side of the ship. Magic thought tarin. Someone is bewitching this vessel to move. He could see a light white glow around the whole ship that to the trained mages eyes revealed the presence of magic. He walked over to the others and together they walked through the gate and prepared to board the ship. Once outside they swam up to the deck. An old elf walked up to them. He had sea weed braided into his beard and he was missing several teeth. His skin looked like it could be blown off with the slightest sea current. He had to be really old for sea elves typically don't grow facial hair. He walked up to Kiaro and they shook hands. "Please make yourselves at home. We should make it to the surface in an hour or so. Call me victor. That's the name of the skeleton I found in the captains bunk so that's the name I'm keeping at the moment," said the old elf. He wheezed off a crackly old laugh and limped away towards the steering mechanism. The old man turned the wheel and the ship sped up at an incline. Kiaro and Balan resumed their previous conversation and Katalina went to the very front of the ship. Tarin walked over to the cabin and leaned against it while reading a book. Thirty minutes passed and with it came a shriek. Tarin looked over his book to see what was wrong. Katalina was backing away from the front of the ship. She was shaking and pointing her finger into distance ahead of the ship. Balan walked over to her. "What is the matter Katalina?" he said. "Demons" she said. Everyone looked into the distance. There was nothing to see. The water was getting steadily light and a couple of dark specks could be seen in the distance. Balan looked at Katalina and smirked. "It is only seaweed" he said. He then turned his back. Katalina shook her head and frantically ran into the cabin and slammed the door. Kiaro walked up to the front of the ship. Something swished through the water and slammed into him. Kiaro went flying backwards and smashed into the cabin. Inside Katalina gave a whimper. From the front of the ship rose a giant serpent. Its body rose up into the water above the ship. Its skin was the color of dark green with specks of black. Only the top half was visible. It opened its giant mouth and gave a loud hiss that made everyone clasp their ears. Its giant eyes scanned the ship for a victim. The ship came to a complete stop. The old elf jumped down onto the deck from the steering wheel. "OH look at that beauty" he said. The old elf started making signs with his hands and made glyphs in the space in front of him with a orange glow that came from his hands. Finally he brought his hands together in a clap and off to the side of the ship a dark portal opened. Out swam a large shark. Its skeleton tarin realized was all that remained of the great shark. Tarin put a piece of coral into his book to mark his place and closed it. This battle had gotten interesting. The old guy pointed at the serpent. "Attack him" he said. The shark burst forward and slammed into the serpent. The shark's jaws snapped at the serpent. The two beasts fought each other savagely. The old elf hopped up and down obviously excited. Tarin made a mental note that this elf was nuts. Kiaro who had regained to his feet yelled to balan. "Help the shark defeat the serpent or we'll never get to the surface" he said. Balan who had been watching the fight sprang into action. He grabbed the bow from his back and quickly launched three arrows. The arrows embedded themselves in the serpents face. The serpent gave a hiss but continued to fight the shark. Kiaro looked at Tarin. "Help them mage, I know you have a spell or two that could give us the winning edge," he said. Tarin rolled his eyes. He then stood straight and rolled up his sleeves. He knew that they would need him to save the day.


	3. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Tarin walked over to Victor. "How long can your summon last?" he said. The old elf, who had been in the process of hopping along the railing of the ship while encouraging his creature on, turned and smiled. " You mean the shark? Oh, he will be ok for a minute or so more." He said. Victor turned around and hopped back onto the nearest rail and continued encouraging the shark. The shark was swimming circles around the serpent. Tarin walked over to Balan. Balan was still firing his long arrows into the serpents face. He shot arrow after arrow with no indication of stopping. Tarin noticed that his quiver never seemed to empty of arrows. He was curious of what spell was used but he forced himself to remember the task at hand. Tarin leaned forward and tapped him on his shoulder. Balan continued to fire the arrows. He shot an arrow and the serpent replied with a screech of pain. Balan tilted his head towards Tarin but never stopped firing. "Give me one of your arrows," said Tarin. Balan quickly gave him and arrow and resumed firing. "Mage whatever you are planning to do, I suggest that you be quick about it. I only seem to be angering the beast more," said Balan. Tarin rolled his eyes and reached into his vest and pulled out a tiny black container. He uncapped the container and dipped his fingers into the black liquid within. He then rubbed the oily substance onto the arrow head. He carefully gave the arrow back to Balan. Balan took the arrow and notched it into his bow. He was about to fire but he paused. He looked at Tarin with a look of curiousity and annoyment. "What did you do to my arrow?" he said. Tarin turned around and started walking back to his stop on the cabin wall. He shrugged. "Nothing special," Tarin said. Balan took aim at the serpent after shaking his head in disgust at Tarin. The serpent had grown tired of the shark and with a burst of speed snapped its giant mouth upon the ribcage of the skeleton shark. Balan fired the arrow. Tarin glanced up from the spell book he was reading. The arrow surged through the water and would have hit the serpent in the face, but the shark chose that moment to break free from the serpents mouth and swam upwards. The serpent intent on finishing the shark off followed upwards in the water. The arrow hit the serpent on the side of its body a couple feet down from it's head. The arrow exploded on impact. Chunks of serpent flesh and blood surged through the water. The serpent, wounded badly, started flailing about in the water while screeching. In a pain induced rage the serpent aimed straight at the deck of the ship and its head reared back. Balan and Kiaro noticing this change in its behavior started to slowly back away towards the cabin were Tarin stood. Balan notched two arrows and took aim while Kiaro unsheathed his long sword. Tarin closed his book and started mentally preparing a spell. At that precise moment the serpent and Tarin locked eyes. Tarin raised an eyebrow. The serpent opened its mouth and gave a mighty screech. Victor ran to the cabin. Tarin couldn't believe that the old elf could still run that fast. He knocked once on the door and Katalina opened it a crack. The old elf pushed inside. Katalina look around the scared elf and saw the situation on the deck. She stifled a cry and slammed the cabin door closed. Tarin and the others could hear many locks being turned. The serpent lunged forward. Balan fired the arrows. One hit the serpent in the eye while the other flew off in the distance. The creature continued to race towards the deck of the ship. Tarin froze. He could not move. For some reason this mighty creature made his blood turn cold. He would never admit to anyone later, but at that moment Tarin was extremely scared. He couldn't focus enough to cast a spell. The creature was so close. Tarin closed his eyes. The serpent surged along the deck of the ship knocking balan and Kiaro off their feet. The creature was only feet away from Tarin and it opened its mouth to swallow him whole. Suddenly the skeleton shark came crashing down on the head of the serpent. They both crashed down into the deck right in front of Tarin. Tarin opened his eyes. The summoned shark dissapeared in a flash of orange light. The serpent lay momentarily stunned on the deck. Kiaro got to his feet and ran swiftly over to the serpent. He jumped up and brung the long sword down in a flash of elven steel, chopping the serpents head off. The serpents body thrashed about on the deck before it slid of the side and plummeted down into the dark depths. The head worked its mouth several times but the whole time the eyes still remained locked onto Tarin's. The head shuddered once and went still but not before a small object rolled out of it's open mouth. Tarin picked it up. He pocketed the object so he could observe it better later on. Tarin looked at the others. Katalina had brung her head out of the cabin and was staring wide eyed at the serpents dead head. Balan stood still, not moving. Kiaro returned his sword to its sheath. Everyone had just endured an epic battle with a mighty foe of the ocean. Old elf Victor walked forward from the cabin and up to the severed head. "Well, that was fun". Tarin rolled his eyes and pulled from his cloak a spell book. He opened it and tried to read. His hands shook violently and he couldn't focus enough to read a word.


End file.
